Panasonic DVD-S53S Up-Converting 1080p DVD Player Silver
The DVD-S53 features a 1080p up-conversion function that converts standard definition (720 x 480 pixels) images from DVD sources to high definition (1920 x 1080 pixels) images. These up-converted signals draw out the maximum performance of an HDMI-compatible 1080p HDTV, giving you vivid, sharp and exceptionally detailed HD resolution images. And unlike ordinary video up-converters that produce images with thicker edges and decreased sharpness, the HD Enhancer keeps the edges sharp while correcting other parts of the image to produce clear, crisp pictures with outstanding detail.EZ Sync HDAVI Control, which lets you operate all of your home theater components by pressing a single button, is now more convenient than ever.Incredibly versatile and multi-format-friendly, this DVD player can play back just about any DVD or CD you can throw at it.
Panasonic DVD-S53S Up-Converting 1080p DVD Player Silver Accessories
 Cables Unlimited 6-Foot HDMI Male to Male Cable (PCM-2295-06)
Cables To Go - 40315 - 2M (6.5ft) Velocity HDMI Digital Video Cable (Blue)
Panasonic TH-42PZ700U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
HDMI Cable 2M (6 Feet)
Peerless ST650P Tilting Wall Mount for 32" to 50" Flat Panel Displays (Black)
Cables Unlimited PCM-2296-06 HDMI to DVI D Single Link Cable (6 Feet, Black)
Panasonic TH-42PX75U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
Apple iPod nano 4 GB Silver (3rd Generation)
StarTech.com 15FT HDMI to HDMI Digital Video Cable ( HDMIMM15 )
Cables Unlimited PCM-2295-10 HDMI Cable - 10ft
Panasonic DVD-S53S Up-Converting 1080p DVD Player Silver Reviews
Only thing is that I cant seem to change my display from 480p to 720p or 1080i. Other than that great player The remote is user friendly. Plays everything ive thrown at it so far. my 32" westinghouse lcd can display up 1080i resolution too. Quality is nice.
Player was delivered in a timely manner. The player is everything they said it was. I have purchased many Panasonic products in the past and have yet to be disappointed.
Being Panasonic, it also plays DVD-RAM's which I want because I use DVD-RAM's on my PC a lot (most people just don't seem to understand why DVD-RAMs are so useful). This is Panasonic's only DVD player that can play MP3's on DVD's. The low price is nice but honestly I would pay twice that or more for the audio playing capabilities. All the others (and all the units I happened to see from other manufacturers) play MP3's only on CD-R/RW's.
The set-up of the S53S is pretty complicated and made worse by the fact that they give you many choices but do not tell you what they are supposed to do in the manual. After I received the HDMI cable and 30 minutes of "tuning", it was still a little hard to convince myself that the 1080P image from S53S was really better than the 480P from my old players. If there is no DVD player that does any up-conversion, this is a good unit to own. I do not understand why some people suggest to get a "gold plated" one. Also, get the HDMI cable. I bought this DVD player to feed some HD signal to my newly purchased HDTV since I was not ready to spend close to $500 for a bluray player even though it looked pretty clear bluray would not be on the losing side of the format war (maybe universal players win in the end).
Otherwise, you should bear in mind that the up-converted signal is still nowhere near real HD signal. Both have progressive scan (convert 480i standard signal to 480P). I had two DVD players already, one standalone and the other built-in the home theater system. The last straw was when I discovered my home theater (also a panasonic) had an HDMI output, and once I connected it, I was amazed to realize that my home theater was capable of doing 1080i conversion already and there was definitely no difference between the 1080P from the S53S and the 1080i from the home theater. HDMI cable is used to transfer digital AV signals and for digital product, the product either works (passes all the "1" and "0"s correctly) or simply does not work (messes up the "1" and "0"s), there is no such thing as noise, degradation, etc any more. It is less than 10 bucks if you browse Amazon for market place sellers.
Bottom line is, take a hard look at what you already have and maybe enable the 480P (or higher) before purchasing. The S53S is much worse. I eneded up returning the product. Because my HDMI cables arrived a couple of days after the S53S, using component cables, I first compared the 480P images from my old players with the S53S.
Be warned, the picture stinks. The picture was very "grainy" (lots of pixels). After fine tuning this product, I was very, very, very diasppointed. I hooked it up to a 47" Vizio LCD (which by the way has an awesome picture) using a HDMI cable. I have a $35 DVD player that only utilizes an s-video cable that produces a much more crisp picture. I bought this DVD player at Circuit City earlier this yr for about a $100.
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